The government will convey to the Opposition its decision about whether or not to constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G scam on February 20 or 21.
The government’s chief strategist and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to call a meeting of floor leaders in Parliament before the President’s address to both the Houses, that is either before February 21 or later.
Mr Mukherjee on Monday briefed the Congress Core Group consisting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the party chief Sonia Gandhi about the deliberations in the all-party meeting he had called here on February 8.
Significantly, the Congress has diluted its stand on “no JPC”, instead it is suggesting that a decision on constitution of a JPC should be taken only after a debate in Parliament. On the other hand, the Opposition has been insisting that the government should first move a motion on a JPC and a debate on the 2G scam could take place later.
In fact, the Congress gave indications that it might not be averse to a JPC if the Opposition is ready for a prior debate and agree to modalities for such an inquiry.
“Democratic institutions must be allowed to function ... What modus operandi ... It is for the government and the Opposition to work it out,” party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters during the day.
“Opposition should not run away from a debate. The demand for a JPC probe should not become a subterfuge to run away from debate. Debate on the floor of the House is a fair, legitimate and just demand,” he said.
The Congress also wants to keep the S-band issue away from any such probe claiming that it is “no scam”.
But well placed sources in the Opposition said the government would finally concede to a JPC probe. “It could be a 30 member JPC. Parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal is expected to move a resolution about constitution of a JPC. And a discussion on it could be held only after that,” they said.
In a related development, Mr Bansal has called a meeting of chief whips of political parties in parliament on Tuesday while Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is likely to convene a meeting of all political parties on February 20 on the eve of the three-month-long Budget Session to make it a smooth affair.